THE Isle of Man Minister for DAFF has today signed a set of Bye-Laws closing the whole of Ramsey Bay to scallop fishing with immediate effect.

This measure has been introduced in order to conserve those scallops that remain in the Bay following a period of sustained fishing since the opening of the season on 1st November 2009.

The Irish Sea area is the only major fishing ground around the British Isles that has a close season to help protect the stocks and the environment. Due to the effective conservation measures put in place giving better scallop and better catch rates more and more vessels from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales are attracted during the season.

The closure of the Welsh scallop fishery recently has meant that more UK vessels have visited Manx waters and it is unfortunate that this has led to overfishing in the Bay, so much so, in fact that the stocks are at a critical level.

The scallop industry is an important part of the Island’s economy. In the 2008/09 season, for example, the Island’s fish processors received some 1,000 tonnes of scallops for cleaning, packing and exporting.

Minister for DAFF, Phil Gawne, MHK said: “It is unfortunate that I have had to take this action as it has a detriment on our fishing industry, particularly the Ramsey based fishermen who have to travel further afield in order to make a living.

“I know I have the full support of those Ramsey fishermen and members of the Manx Fish Producers Organisation who sought this closure in order to protect the viability of the area for scallop fishing in the future. I did make it clear at the start of the season that it was disappointing that those vessels from areas that fail to introduce any meaningful conservation measures are currently allowed to come to Manx waters and undermine our efforts to develop a sustainable scallop industry.
“I said at the time that this is clearly unfair and I hope that UK Fisheries Ministers will shortly agree to a new Agreement which will allow me the same level of control in the Manx territorial sea as they enjoy in theirs.”

skipper 1

27th December 2009, 10:40

is this going to be a temporary measure or permanent and do you know of any where else there thinking of closing.